Keeping Invention Contests in Perspective

Several of my latest posts have detailed contest-like opportunities for inventors. And as much as I support the efforts of BIG, Everyday Edisons, and other similar programs, I want to make something very clear. These opportunities are great – you should make the most of them. They’re both fun and challenging, and an excellent way to test the strength of your pitch, the confidence with which you sell yourself. But the contest avenue should be, at most, one of many you’re pursuing.

Your chance of winning a contest is low. And ultimately, you’re placing your future in another person’s hands. Successful inventors hustle. They don’t place their eggs in a single basket, and they don’t count on a single opportunity paying off. Keep participating in contests in perspective and enjoy them for what they are. But in the meantime, get out there and get going.

I’ve observed a nasty tendency of inventors to withhold, to keep their ideas and inventions close to themselves in sort of an odd preservation/protection attempt – far too close. But in actuality, the greater the visibility your product has, the higher the likelihood it will be picked up and recognized. You should be constantly selling, pushing, getting people to see your product at every opportunity. Use your resources and network! At some point, you’ll hit the right investor, the right potential licensee, the right business.

A door will open – but not before, and not until you knock on exponentially more.